Americans are, by and large, a competitive people. We compete on the sportsball fields, we compete in the workplace, and we compete for fun on the weekends; we just like to test ourselves--and our skills-- against each other. 

Turns out that cheesemakers compete, too. There is a United States Championship Cheese contest, and in 2025, an Ohio cheesemaker won the overall best cheese award for a lovely, big wheel of Swiss. Whey to go!

An Ohio cheesemaker won the United States Championship Cheese with a 200-pound (90-kilogram) Swiss wheel.

Guggisberg Cheese in Millersburg, Ohio, beat out 1,892 entries from 28 states. Out of a possible 100 points, the Swiss wheel scored 98.496 in the final round of judging Thursday.

First runner-up was a brick cheese made by John Pitman of Mill Creek Cheese in Arena, Wisconsin. Their score was 98.389.

It is unknown if part of the competition involved trying that Swiss cheese on some rye bread with ham, but that would have been my first test. But, whatever the scoring criteria, this is clearly the muenster of all cheese contests.

It should come as no surprise, especially to Midwesterners, that while an Ohio cheesemaker caught the top award, another state took the most overall prizes. Brie-lieve me on this:

Wisconsin had the most gold medals, with 56 of the 90 categories judged. New York came in second, with seven golds.

Wisconsin, New York and California earned the most medals in the debut yogurt classes, each winning two medals.

Because, Wisconsin, of course. I do know that parts of New York are also dairy country. California, though? 

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Many of us who grew up in the upper Midwest remember making trips to Wisconsin to buy specialty cheeses. Wisconsin is a dairy state, and its reputation for the quality and variety of cheeses is well-deserved. And while cheese is great all on its own, it's even better as a pairing with other foods. In fact, some cheese pairings are as gouda a meal as you're liable to find anywhere.

I'm something of a cheeseburger aficionado. The jumbo cheeseburger is probably the United States' top contribution to world fine cuisine, and for me, how well they do up a cheeseburger is the benchmark by which I judge a dining establishment. Our local lodge, where we stop for lunch pretty much every Saturday, does them wonderfully. But I have fond memories of one day in the summer of 1980, when I was riding my motorcycle from LaCrosse, Wisconsin, down the east side of the Mississippi to Prarie du Chien, and stopping at a roadside tavern somewhere in that stretch for lunch. There, I enjoyed one of the best cheeseburgers I've ever laid jaws on - a thick, hand-made patty, topped with local Monterey Jack cheese, fried onions, and several bacon strips.

I returned the following year, and the tavern had closed down. Too bad.

Americans are fondue cheese, of that there can be no doubt. And now, with this contest, we see once more that Wisconsin may be the go-to place for cheese - but it would seem that Ohio's Guggisberg Cheese is worth checking into as well. Congratulations to all the cheesy winners!